Retractable lead

ABSTRACT

A retractable lead of the present invention includes a brake trigger provided in the vicinity of the front surface of a body casing that contains a reel below a draw-out port. The brake trigger is attached in a state of being able to be pushed in the body casing in the direction opposite to the direction in which the lead is drawn out (backward) and being biased in the direction in which the brake trigger is pushed back. If the brake trigger is pushed in, an engaging claw portion protruding from the brake trigger engages with an engaging tooth portion formed on a flange of the reel, thereby restricting rotation of the reel in the draw-out direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on PatentApplication No. 2010-003396 filed in Japan on Jan. 8, 2010, the entirecontents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

The present invention relates mainly to a portable retractable lead(leash winding apparatus) configured to wind a lead (leash) used forwalking a house dog on a reel and allow the lead to be drawn out to adesired length.

A portable retractable lead for a walk is known that is configured toallow a lead wound on a reel to be drawn out according to the force ofthe pulling of the dog, fix the lead to a certain length according tothe situation, and automatically wind the loose lead by a rotationalbiasing force in the winding direction.

As shown in FIG. 10, with, for example, a retractable lead 9 disclosedin JP H3-23166U, a reel 92 for winding a lead is contained in a bodycasing 91, and the lead is pulled out from a draw-out port 93 formed inthe body casing 91. A handle 94 is provided on a substantially oppositeside to the draw-out port 93 in the body casing 91. The retractable lead9 is provided with an operation portion 95 at a position where the thumbtouches it when the handle 94 is held, and is configured to be capableof locking the drawing out of the lead and canceling the lock by pushingin this operation portion 95 with the thumb.

All the retractable leads disclosed in JP H10-59630A, JP 3114872U, andthe like also have the same configuration as that described above,although the size of the handle and the angle thereof are slightlydifferent. This is the configuration of a conventional generalretractable lead.

With the conventional retractable lead, when a user grips the handlewith four fingers put between the body casing and the handle as ifholding a bag and the draw-out port facing forward in the movementdirection, the operation portion is positioned on the upper surface nearthe rear portion of the body casing. The drawing out of the lead islocked by the operation of pushing in the operation portion diagonallydownward to the front with the thumb, and the lock is canceled if theoperation portion is pushed in again. That is, with the conventionalretractable lead, the operation portion needs to be pushed in almost thesame direction as the direction in which the lead is drawn out when thedrawing out of the lead is desired to be stopped.

However, the above operation is slightly unnatural sensorily as theoperation for stopping the drawing out of the lead. For example, it mayhappen that a dog being walked suddenly begins to run toward anotherperson or dog, and in the case where a lead is suddenly drawn out sothat the drawing out of the lead is desired to be stopped in haste,rather than moving the hand and fingers in the same direction as thedirection in which the lead is drawn out, it is more natural, as areflective sense, to move the hand and fingers in the oppositedirection, that is, the direction in which the lead is to be pulledback, which would avoid a wrong action even in a case that calls forinstant reaction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been conceived focusing on such a sense ofoperation, and provides a retractable lead that can be operated quicklyand reliably with a more natural sense than that of a conventionalretractable lead by an operation in the direction opposite to that ofthe conventional retractable lead when the drawing out of a lead isdesired to be stopped.

A retractable lead of the present invention is based on a basicassumption that a reel for winding a lead is contained in a body casingin a state where the reel is rotatable and a rotating force in a windingdirection is applied to the reel, the lead wound by the reel being drawnout forward from a draw-out port formed in a front portion of the bodycasing. Note that in this specification, the side to which the lead isdrawn out in the body casing of the retractable lead is referred to as“front”, and the side opposite thereto, that is, the side to which thelead is wound is referred to as “rear”, to facilitate description.

In order to solve the above problems, the retractable lead of thepresent invention adopts a configuration in which a brake trigger isprovided in the vicinity of a front surface of the body casing below thedraw-out port, and the brake trigger is attached to the body casing in astate of being able to be pushed in the body casing in a directionopposite to a direction in which the lead is drawn out (backward) andbeing biased in a direction in which the brake trigger is pushed back,and if the brake trigger is pushed in, the brake trigger engages withthe reel, and rotation of the reel in the draw-out direction isrestricted.

This configuration is suitable for a comparatively small retractablelead. If such a retractable lead is gripped in a hand with the bodycasing being held vertically and the draw-out port facing forward, theindex finger touches properly the brake trigger provided in the vicinityof the front surface below the draw-out port, and the thumb is put onthe upper surface of the body casing. During a walk, while the bodycasing is gripped in that state, the drawing out of the lead is adjustedby operating the brake trigger with the index finger. According to thisconfiguration, in the case where a dog suddenly begins to run or thelike so that the lead is pulled, it is possible to stop the lead beingdrawn out by pushing in the brake trigger by an operation of flexing theindex finger toward the user (backward of the body casing). Accordingly,the retractable lead can be operated without confusion but rather with anatural sense even in a case that calls for instant reaction.

It is preferable that the brake trigger is axially attached so as to beswingable backward and forward at a position in the vicinity of thedraw-out port in the body casing via a support shaft provided parallelto a rotation axis of the reel. According to this configuration, thebrake trigger is held at a proper swing angle for operation with theindex finger, and thus preferred operativity can be obtained.

Further, as an engaging mechanism of the brake trigger and the reel inthe above configuration, a configuration is possible in which the braketrigger includes an engaging claw portion protruding toward the reelfrom a rear edge portion of the brake trigger that faces the reel, anengaging tooth portion is formed on an external surface of a flangeprojecting from either edge of the reel, and rotation of the reel isconstrained by the engaging claw portion engaging with the engagingtooth portion of the reel by an operation of pushing in the braketrigger. With such an engaging mechanism, the mechanism itself is simpleand rational, and the brake trigger and the reel are reliably engagedwith a preferred feeling, which would less likely to cause failure orwrong operation.

Note that with this retractable lead, the drawing out of the lead isrestricted if the brake trigger is pushed in by the flexion of the indexfinger, and the reel again becomes rotatable if the index finger isrelaxed so as to allow the brake trigger to be pushed back, therebyenabling the lead to be freely drawn out. Accordingly, for walking whilekeeping the length of the lead fixed, it is desirable that the braketrigger can be locked in a state where it is pushed in. As a lockingmechanism for the brake trigger, for example, a mechanism to alternatelyswitch between a lock state and a lock cancelled state by pushing in thebrake trigger again is also conceivable. However, such a mechanismrequires a higher cost since the internal component configuration iscomplicated, and moreover is likely to cause a misoperation in a casethat calls for instant reaction.

In view of this, with the retractable lead of the present invention, amechanism for locking operation of the brake trigger is providedseparately from the brake trigger. Specifically, as a locking mechanismfor the brake trigger, a configuration is adopted in which a lock leveris provided on an upper surface of the body casing at a rear positionrelative to the draw-out port, and the lock lever is attached so as tobe slidable backward and forward along the upper surface of the bodycasing, and if the lock lever is caused to slide forward in a statewhere the brake trigger is pushed in the body casing, the lock leverengages with the brake trigger, and the brake trigger is locked in astate where rotation of the reel is restricted.

The lock lever according to this configuration is provided at a positionwhere the thumb touches it properly in the state where the body casingis gripped in a hand. The operation of flexing the index finger towardthe user and the operation of pushing the thumb forward can be naturallyperformed in coordination with each other since a force is appliedthereto in the same manner, and thus favorable operativity can beobtained.

As an engaging mechanism for the lock lever and the brake trigger inthis configuration, it is rational that the lock lever includes anengaging hook portion protruding toward the brake trigger, a hookreceiving portion corresponding to the engaging hook portion is formedat a rear edge portion of the brake trigger, and the brake trigger isconstrained in a pushed-in state by the engaging hook portion engagingwith the hook receiving portion of the brake trigger by an operation ofadvancing the lock lever. With such an engaging mechanism, the mechanismitself is simple and rational, and the lock lever and the brake triggerare reliably engaged with a preferred feeling, which would less likelyto cause failure or wrong operation.

Further, as another configuration of a retractable lead of the presentinvention, a configuration is adopted in which a handle is provided on aside of the body casing opposite to the draw-out port, a brake triggeris provided at an upper portion of a front surface of the handle with afinger inserting space being formed between the body casing and thehandle, and the brake trigger is attached to the handle in a state ofbeing able to be pushed in the handle in a direction opposite to adirection in which the lead is drawn out and being biased in a directionin which the brake trigger is pushed back, and if the brake trigger ispushed in, a brake arm that extends from the brake trigger toward thereel engages with the reel, and rotation of the reel in a draw-outdirection is restricted.

This configuration is applied to a retractable lead that is larger thanthat having the configuration described above. If the handle is grippedwith four fingers put between the handle provided at the rear portion ofthe body casing and the body casing, and the draw-out port facingforward, the index finger touches properly the brake trigger provided atthe upper portion of the front surface of the handle. During a walk,while the handle is gripped in such a state, the brake trigger isoperated with the index finger, thereby adjusting the drawing out of thelead. With this configuration as well, in the case where a dog suddenlybegins to run or the like so that the lead is pulled, it is possible tostop the lead from being drawn out by an operation of flexing the indexfinger toward the user (toward the handle). Accordingly, the retractablelead can be operated with a natural sense even in a case that calls forinstant reaction.

With the retractable lead of the present invention constituted asdescribed above, the direction in which the brake trigger is operatedwhen the drawing out of the lead is restricted is set to a directionopposite to that of a conventional retractable lead, that is, adirection in which the lead is to be pulled back. Accordingly, since thebrake trigger can be operated with a more natural sense than that withthe conventional retractable lead, it is possible to quickly andreliably stop the lead from being drawn out without confusion even in acase that calls for instant reaction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the external appearance of a retractablelead according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the retractable lead.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the state of the retractable lead beinggripped.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the retractable lead.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the retractable lead taken along the lineA-A in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an exploded side view in which one of two halves thatconstitute a body casing of the retractable lead has been removed.

FIG. 7 is an exploded side view showing a state where a brake trigger ofthe retractable lead shown in FIG. 6 is pushed in.

FIG. 8 is an exploded side view showing a state where the brake triggerof the retractable lead shown in FIG. 7 is locked at a pushed-inposition.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a retractablelead according to a second embodiment of the present invention and astate of the retractable lead being gripped.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a general conventionalretractable lead and a state of the retractable lead being gripped.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are described withreference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. Aretractable lead 1 according to this embodiment is provided with a bodycasing 2 having a size small enough to be gripped with one hand as shownin FIG. 3. Since the body casing 2 does not have a handle, a wrist strapsuspension portion 21 is provided at the bottom rear portion of the bodycasing 2 in order to avoid the retractable lead being dropped even whena user fails to grip it. Further, the external surface of the bodycasing 2 is covered with nonslip rubber 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, the body casing 2 is formed by putting togetherright and left halves 2A and 2B, and a reel 3 for winding a lead 11 iscontained inside thereof. The reel 3 is held so as to be freelyrotatable, being fit around a reel attachment shaft portion 23 that isprotruding from the half 2A on one side of the body casing 2.

The reel 3 is provided with a cylindrical drum 31 for winding the lead11, and a pair of flanges 32 projecting from both the right and leftedges thereof. A tubular hole portion 33 is formed in the center portionof the drum 31. A spiral spring 4 is interposed between the innercircumferential surface of the tubular hole portion 33 and the reelattachment shaft portion 23, and the spiral spring 4 applies a rotatingforce in the winding direction to the reel 3. The member denoted bynumeral 34 in FIG. 2 is a lid member fitted in the tubular hole portion33 of the reel 3 to press the spiral spring 4.

The body casing 2 has a shape slightly projecting forward, and a frontlid member 5 formed separately from the body casing 2 is attached at thefront end thereof. A draw-out port 51 is formed through the front lidmember 5 in the direction in which the lead 11 wound on the drum 31 isdrawn out.

Engaging tooth portions 35 having a substantially saw blade shapeprojecting toward the outer peripheral edge of the flanges 32 are formedon the external surfaces of the both flanges 32 by increasing thethickness of the flanges 32. The plurality of engaging tooth portions 35are disposed at equal angle intervals in a circumferential direction.

A trigger operation opening portion 24 is formed in the front surface ofthe body casing 2 below the draw-out port 51, and a brake trigger 6 isprovided in this opening portion 24. A trigger support shaft 25protrudes from the half 2A on one side of the body casing 2 parallel tothe rotation axis of the reel 3 (the reel attachment shaft portion 23).The brake trigger 6 is held so as to be swingable backward and forwardby the trigger support shaft 25 being fit in a shaft hole 61 formed inthe upper portion of the brake trigger. If the body casing 2 is grippedas shown in FIG. 3, the index finger touches properly the front surfaceof the brake trigger 6, and the brake trigger 6 can be pushed in thebody casing 2 by the flexion of the index finger.

Engaging claw portions 62 projecting toward the reel 3 are formed atboth rear edge portions on the lower side of this the brake trigger 6.As shown in FIG. 7, when the brake trigger 6 is pushed in the bodycasing 2, the engaging claw portions 62 engage with the engaging toothportions 35 of the reel 3. Then, the reel 3 cannot further rotate in thedraw-out direction, thereby restricting the drawing out of the lead 11.

A substantially tubular spring housing portion 63 (see FIG. 5) that isopen diagonally upward to the rear is formed inside the brake trigger 6,and a coil spring 64 is housed inside thereof. The rear end portion ofthe coil spring 64 is fixed in an engaged manner in the vicinity of theoperation opening portion 24 of the body casing 2, and the coil spring64 is held in a compressed state. The coil spring 64 biases the braketrigger 6 in the direction in which the brake trigger is pushed back tothe front of the body casing 2. Therefore, if the index finger isrelaxed from the state in FIG. 7, the brake trigger 6 is pushed back tothe front, which cancels engagement with the reel 3. The state thusreturns to that in FIG. 6, which enables the reel 3 to again rotate inthe draw-out direction.

A lock lever 7 for locking the brake trigger 6 in the state where thebrake trigger is engaged with the reel 3 is provided on the uppersurface of the body casing 2 at a rear position relative to the draw-outport 51.

The lock lever 7 includes an operating plate portion 71 having a fingercatch projection formed in the center portion of the upper surface, anda neck portion 72 with a small cross section is formed on theundersurface of the operating plate portion 71. The body casing 2 has anelongated sliding slotted hole 26 formed in the front-rear directionthereof, and the lock lever 7 is held so as to be freely slidablebackward and forward by the neck portion 72 engaging with the slidingslotted hole 26. Engagement ridges 27 for stopping respectively at theadvanced and retracted positions of the operating plate portion 71 areformed on the side of the sliding slotted hole 26 in the body casing 2.

Below the neck portion 72 of the lock lever 7, leg portions 73 areprovided so as to straddle both the flanges 32 of the reel 3. The legportions 73 extend downward to the front in the body casing 2, andengaging hook portions 74 having a substantially U shape as viewed fromthe side are formed at the front edge thereof.

On the other hand, hook receiving portions 65 having a substantially Ushape as viewed from the side corresponding to the engaging hookportions 74 are formed at both rear edge portions on the upper side ofthe brake trigger 6. As shown in FIG. 8, if the lock lever 7 is causedto slide forward in the state where the brake trigger 6 is pushed in thebody casing 2, the engaging hook portions 74 of the lock lever 7 engagewith the hook receiving portions 65 of the brake trigger 6, therebypreventing the brake trigger 6 from returning. By locking the braketrigger 6 in the pushed-in state in this way, even if the finger isremoved from the brake trigger 6, rotation of the reel 3 remainsconstrained.

Note that in the embodiment described as an example, in the state inFIG. 6, the front edge of the engaging hook portions 74 of the locklever 7 and the rear edge of the hook receiving portions 65 of the braketrigger 6 are designed so as to abut against each other at anappropriate inclination angle, and even if the operation of pushing inthe brake trigger 6 is not performed, the brake trigger 6 can be causedto swing to a lock position compulsorily by merely advancing the locklever 7.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 9. Aretractable lead 10 according to this embodiment is larger than theretractable lead 1 according to the first embodiment described above,and has a handle 8 at the rear portion of a body casing 20 in which thereel 3 is contained. A brake trigger 60 is provided at the upper portionof the front surface of the handle 8, which is located at a positionwhere an index finger touches the brake trigger properly when fourfingers are put in the finger inserting space formed between the bodycasing 20 and the handle 8 so as to grip the handle 8.

The brake trigger 60 is attached so as to be pushed backward in thehandle 8 by the operation of flexing the index finger, and is biased inthe direction in which the brake trigger is pushed back by a spring orthe like (not shown). A brake arm (not shown) formed in the braketrigger 60 extends toward the reel inside the body casing 20, andengages with the engaging tooth portions formed on the flanges of thereel, thereby restricting rotation of the reel in the draw-outdirection. The configurations of the flanges and the engaging toothportions of the reel are the same as those in the first embodimentdescribed above. With such a configuration as well, it is possible tostop the lead 11 from being drawn out by a fingertip operation in thedirection in which the lead 11 is pulled back.

A lock lever 70 that locks the brake trigger 60 in the pushed-in stateis provided at a position in the upper portion of the rear surface ofthe handle 8 where the thumb touches the lock lever properly, and isheld so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. If the lock lever70 is caused to slide upward in the state where the brake trigger 60 ispushed in the handle 8, the lock lever 70 engages with the brake trigger60. According to such a configuration, the operation of flexing an indexfinger toward the user and the operation of pushing the thumb forwardare naturally performed in coordination with each other, therebyfacilitating operation of the lock lever.

Note that the shape of the constituent members described in the aboveembodiments are merely examples, and it is of course possible, in thepresent invention, to change the details of the shape of those membersas appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

The present invention may be embodied in various other forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein are to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not limiting. The scope of the invention isindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All variations and modifications that come within themeaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to beembraced therein.

1. A retractable lead in which a reel for winding a lead is contained ina body casing in a state where the reel is rotatable and a rotatingforce in a winding direction is applied to the reel, the lead wound bythe reel being drawn out forward from a draw-out port formed in a frontportion of the body casing, wherein a brake trigger is provided in thevicinity of a front surface of the body casing below the draw-out port,and the brake trigger is attached to the body casing in a state of beingable to be pushed in the body casing in a direction opposite to adirection in which the lead is drawn out and being biased in a directionin which the brake trigger is pushed back, and if the brake trigger ispushed in, the brake trigger engages with the reel, and rotation of thereel in the draw-out direction is restricted.
 2. The retractable leadaccording to claim 1, wherein the brake trigger is axially attached soas to be swingable backward and forward at a position in the vicinity ofthe draw-out port in the body casing via a support shaft providedparallel to a rotation axis of the reel.
 3. The retractable leadaccording to claim 1, wherein the brake trigger includes an engagingclaw portion protruding toward the reel from a rear edge portion of thebrake trigger that faces the reel, an engaging tooth portion is formedon an external surface of a flange projecting from either edge of thereel, and rotation of the reel is constrained by the engaging clawportion engaging with the engaging tooth portion of the reel by anoperation of pushing in the brake trigger.
 4. The retractable leadaccording to claim 1, wherein a lock lever is provided on an uppersurface of the body casing at a rear position relative to the draw-outport, and the lock lever is attached so as to be slidable backward andforward along the upper surface of the body casing, and if the locklever is caused to slide forward in a state where the brake trigger ispushed in the body casing, the lock lever engages with the braketrigger, and the brake trigger is locked in a state where rotation ofthe reel is restricted.
 5. The retractable lead according to claim 4,wherein the lock lever includes an engaging hook portion protrudingtoward the brake trigger, a hook receiving portion corresponding to theengaging hook portion is formed at a rear edge portion of the braketrigger, and the brake trigger is constrained in a pushed-in state bythe engaging hook portion engaging with the hook receiving portion ofthe brake trigger by an operation of advancing the lock lever.
 6. Aretractable lead in which a reel for winding a lead is contained in abody casing in a state where the reel is rotatable and a rotating forcein a winding direction is applied to the reel, the lead wound by thereel being drawn out forward from a draw-out port formed in a frontportion of the body casing, wherein a handle is provided on a side ofthe body casing opposite to the draw-out port, a brake trigger isprovided at an upper portion of a front surface of the handle with afinger inserting space being formed between the body casing and thehandle, and the brake trigger is attached to the handle in a state ofbeing able to be pushed in the handle in a direction opposite to adirection in which the lead is drawn out and being biased in a directionin which the brake trigger is pushed back, and if the brake trigger ispushed in, a brake arm that extends from the brake trigger toward thereel engages with the reel, and rotation of the reel in a draw-outdirection is restricted.